Marsden’s media warpath

It’s such an invigorating change from the tedium of our own small stage when we’re propelled into the vortex of international affairs.

The NSW Supreme Court defamation action against SBS TV by Morgan Tsvangirai, the Zimbabwean Opposition leader, will take us right into the thick of the gruesome politics of the Dark Continent.

Tsvangirai is suing because Jana Wendt, the former hostess of the SBS show Dateline, told viewers that he has been “plotting to kill President Mugabe”.

The Dateline story by steel-eyed Mark Davis (nowadays a lawyer) relied on information from a former Israeli intelligence officer, Ari Ben-Menashe, currently the head of an international spin shop, Dickens & Madson, which is employed by the Mugabe regime.

[More recently Ben-Menashe has been spin doctoring for the Myanmar generals.]

Anyway, the case has had a couple of interlocutory rounds in the Supreme Court with SBS asking for security for costs.

Morgan’s solicitor here, the Camperdown based R.L. Whyburn & Associates, hammered out a deal with the broadcaster to the effect that the plaintiff would come up with $120,000 worth of security by the end of September, otherwise there would most likely be consent for the action to be struck out.

When the deadline loomed there was a flurry of anticipation. We now discover that the hero of Campbelltown, John Marsden, has come up with Morgan’s security and the case is to proceed.

MarsBar recently settled his own mammoth defamation action against Channel Seven just after orders were issued by the Court of Appeal for a retrial on damages.

He is now a champion of those whose reputations have been sullied by the media.

It seems, too, that the famous urban terrorist Meredith “Keys” Littlemore will not be running the plaintiff’s case. Rod Weaver has come on board for Mr Tsvangarai.

Peter Bartlett from Minters is handling it for the multi-culturally inclined broadcaster.